Skip to main content

Theater of the Oppressed Reflections/Wonderings

Reflections/Findings:
I was surprised at the use of the phrase “the means of production” in relation to theater and artistic practices. I’ve only come into contact with it in terms of the Marxist outline of a social revolution, where there is a revolt of the proletariat in order to reappropriate the industrial means of production to the people. Reading it in this context made me think of other systems in which a means of production can exist, including systems of emotional and individual expression, and what those means may consist of.
In relation to this idea of the means of production being reclaimed via revolution, there is an interesting passage, repeated in the essay, in which it is expressed that though theater may not be a revolution in and of itself, it can act as the rehearsal for a revolution. The communities participating in these games and activities regarding the issues they face rehearse going through the actions of recognizing and rectifying these issues, thereby creating a social muscle memory in their bodies, minds, and language. This can lead to further discussion and action outside the realm of theater.
The “spectator” of this structure must be liberated, as the theater imposes images that are presented as finished and complete. However, these images are often neither fair nor truthful in that they exclude the perspective of the spectator. The spectator then must become the actor in order to evolve these images to reflect their own perspective as well as other possible remedies to the situation in conversation with the community.


Wonderings:
What changes occur and what actions are taken in communities that participate in this language of expression and communication? Does their participation affect their future community communications and discussions?
Can this structure effectively be used to identify superstructures and biases in other contexts? Can this structure be used to hold a mirror to the oppressor?

What is the effect of duration of the process in a community? After a day? After a week? After several weeks?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Jeremy Griffith - The Roof is on Fire

1. CONTEXT: What were the circumstances that framed the meaning and process of this project? There are many minority teens in low-income, low-opportunity areas who have unheard voices. Their self-esteem isn't cultivated and all of their portrayal in the media is negative. 2. CONTENT: What was the issue, need, idea or opportunity addressed by this project? Teen voices were unheard, opinions of them were based on negative media stereotypes, and many of them had very poor self-esteem. 3: FORM: What is the medium that was used to address or embody the content? Immersive theatre in the form of car-conversations that audience members could eavesdrop on. 4. STAKEHOLDERS: Which are the groups or individuals that were invested in the project? The teenagers were very invested because of their desire to free their voices. The adults who helped were invested because they wanted to help these kids start to change the narrative. And the d...
Post a Comment
Read more

Geneva Heron Assignments

Assignment: Aesthetic Evangelists - Due 1/30    Three key ideas in the text that resonate with me: The first is the idea of the "new public art," or what we would call "community engaged art." The article discusses the transition from art displayed in public sites to community based projects that have the goal of collaboration and focus more on the process than the end result/outcome. This intrigues me because before this class I was honestly very unaware of this form of art-making and its growing prevalence. Another idea that resonates with me is when the author talked about community based public art of today drawing on the urban reform rhetoric of the past both consciously and subconsciously. This stood out because it's an old adage that history repeats itself and I think it's interesting that the times we live in now call for a callback to this type of work and a more curious examination of what this can do for people and their communities. Th...
Post a Comment
Read more

Mind Map - Bri Pattillo

Post a Comment
Read more